Air-supply tower



R. L. BACHER AIR SUPPLY TOWER ot.s,19z5. l1,556,397

Filed Dec. 1, 1922 Patented oct. 6, 1925.

UNITED STATES par-ENT OFFICE-f:

nOLLIN L. 'BAcHEn-l ork CLEVELAND HEIGHrsOHIO, AssrcNoR Toy ITHE UNITEDsrATEs'AIR COMPRESSOR co.,.or CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION Oromo.y

AIE-SUPPLY TOWER.

To Vall ic/icm t may concern:

Be it known that I', RoLLrN L. BAGHER, a citizen of the United` States,residing at Cleveland Heights, in the countyfof Cuyahoga and State ofOhio, have invented a certain new anduseful Improvementin Air- SupplyTowers, of which the following is a full, clear, and eXactdescription,reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to meansfor inflating the tires of motorvehicles, bicycles, etc., and more particularly to means in a devicewherein the air hose is suspended normally above the roadway, but isdownwardly movable so as-to be readily accessible for use.

Usually a device of this-character, embodies anarm carrying an vair hoseand having a counterweight rigidly attached to the arm, and usually thearm is limited in its revolving movement. Accordingly, whenever the hoseis` pulled downwardly the .counterweight decreases in effectiveness whenthe arm reaches a certain position. In instances wherein'the revolvingmovement of the arm and hose is prevented, the radius of action isV ofcourse restricted .so that the tires of motor vehicles on only one sideof the air stations may be inflated satisfactorily.

One of the objects of my invention therefore, is the provision ofmeans/for increasing the effectiveness of the counter-weightproportionately to the lowering` of the hose supporting arm.- Myinvention moreover contemplates the use of a counterweight having thesevcharacteristics' together with such an arrangement of hose connectionrasl will permit the -eflectiveoperation without interfering with therevolving movement of the hose Yrelatively to the hose support.

I carry out the above objectsby providing van Aextension of. the hosesupporting arm on the opposite side of the fulcrum therefor, and on thisextension I provide a `counterweight which is free to move relativelythereof, and I employ suitable means for moving the counterweight awayfrom the fulcrum as the hose: supporting` arm is lowered. For permittingthe arm to be revolved about thesupport therefor, I employ a flexibleconduit or hose within a standard, which hose has one end connected to astationary supply Vline near ithe base ofthe standard v and the otherend to a conduit'formed by the hose supporting arm.y "By` making thevconnection with the Stationary'supply. line ad- .f r`, 4 Applicationfiled December 1', .1922. Serial No. 604,189.

jacentv the `ibase `offthe standard, then that part of the hose withinthe .standard comprises a torsion member which permits the air hose armto be revolved lat least a full turnand when released'causesfthe arm toresume substantially its original position.

The means for carrying out' my invention Will be more fully set forth inthe following description which pertains to the accompanyingdrawings andthe essential features will besummarized in the claims.v n

In the drawings, Figgl is an elevation Aof an air station embodyingfeatures of'my invention ;`l Fig. 2 is a similar'. view partially insection, ony anenlarged scale; Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevationyofthe casing adjacent the point of pivotal connection for the hosesupporting arm.

In the 4drawings, 10 designates-a hollow standard, mountedyon a hollowbase 11,

which may be provided with a door l2. This d oor permits access to waterand air connections 13 and 14.. The upper end of the standard carries ahollowA head or casing15 which may be provided with` a neck-16 extendingover the standard and vswivelly mounted thereon. `rThe swivel connectionpreferably comprises a sleeve 17 which eX- tends into the standard andcarries a self contained ball bearing 28, and which is provided with anopening 18 through which an air conduit or hose 19 may extend. The conlduit 19 is connected at one end 'to a stationary conduit 2O and at theother end, as at 21, to a member 22 which is pivotally mounted at 23 0nthehea'd 15. The member 22 has an passageway therein which communicateswith av hose supportingarm 24. This arm comprises. a pipe, the uppervend of which is y ,attachedv to a return bend Connection 25 from whichaflexible air hose 26 extends.

yThe air hose is provided with a connection 27for application -totheusual tire valve.

The air hose arm 24; is normally held in raised position by means of acounterweight i3() which' as shown, is carried on an eXtension 31. yThis extension or arm' may form part ofthe member I22-e`rtending on theside of the fulcrum 23 Opposite to that of' the arm 2,4 as shownparticularly in Fig. l2. The

Vcounterweight is slidably mounted on the arm 31 and is positioned bymeans of a link 32, rone end of which' is attached to the counterweightat 33 and the other end of ,which mayv be pivoted at 34 to the head 1,52i t,

CJI

Then as the air hose is lowered, with a consequent raising` of thecounterweight arm 31, the counterweight `is moved outwardly from thefulcrum 23 as shown in the broken lines on Fig, 1. Accordingly, thecounterweight acts in the counterweight arm at increasing distances fromthe fulcrum as the air hose is lowered, the result being` that morepower is available for returning the hose to upright position than'would be available if the counterweight were permanently attached to theassociated arm.

To prevent the counterweight from striking the standard or any part ofthe casing, I have shown a cushioning member as embodied in a coilspring which is placed over the arm 31 and is attached at one end to anadjustable collar l1. This spring is so positioned, that as thecounterweight descends, an engagement with the upper end of the spring`is effected before any part of the member 22 or arm lrstrikes thecasing. Then since the path of the counterweight is governed by the link32, it follows that continued downward movement of the weight compressesthe spring 110 andcushions the blow resulting from the fallingcounterweight, without permitting contact of the arm with any part ofthe mechanism pivotally mounted on the casing.

lt is frequently desirable to so position-a device of this character,that tires of motor vehicles may be inflated on either side of thedevice. Accordingly, the casing is rotatably mounted on the standard bymeans of the neck 16 which loosely embraces the top of the standard andis supported on the bearing 2S. By making the air conduit 19 of rubberhose, the conduit itself serves as a torsion member which may be ofsufficient length to permit more than a complete turn. After the airhose has been used and has been released, the conduit- 19 untwists andreturns the hose to 'the original position relative to the standard. Tofacilitate the action of the hose 19, the member 22 is provided withseparated arms between which the hose extends as shown particularly inFig. 3. This prevents Contact of the hose with the pivot pins 23 whenthe arm 241 is revolved, wherefore the hose may be readily twisted whenthe arm is in lowered position.

The construction heretofore described facilitates the assembling and theinstallation of an air station at any desired place remote from a gasstation. For example, water and air pipes as at 9 and 2O respectivelymay be carried in the ground and then extended upwardly above the groundso as to be accessible through the door of the base 11. Then the baseand standard are jplaced over the air and water conduits and the casing15 together with the associated hose carrying arm 1s placed over thestandard with the hose 19 extending through the standard. Since the airhose 26 is provided with a valve 27, then the hose 19 may be connectedwith the pipe 2O by a suitable union 14, while the water line 8 may besuitably connected as by a valve 13 to the pipe line 9. In this way, thevarious operating parts of the station may be assembled in the factoryand quickly positioned for use "i the desired location.

1n view of the foregoing description, it will be seen that my inventionprovides means for proportionately increasing the force tending toreturn the air hose to nor-- mal raised position, in accordance with thedegree to which the hose is lowered, and that the means employed may bereadily adapted to existing air supply stations withont necessitatingextensive changes in the construction thereof. Moreover, my inventionpermits the air hose to be revolved on the standard for serving motorvehicles on either side thereof, without endangering any of the airconnections, whereby the air snpnl, iis'etulness over those wherein theangular movement of the air hose is restricted.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. A, device of thecharacter described con'iprising in combination a support, an armmounted on the support and adapted to be moved relatively thereto, aflexible hose depending from the arm and having at its lower end aconnection for a tire valve, a counterweight tending to raise the arm,and means for increasing the distance between the counterweight and thepivot of the arm when the arm is lowered.

A. device of the character described .comprising in combination,asupport, an arm pivotally mounted on the support, a flexible hosedepending` from the arm and having at its lower end a connection for atire valve, a counterweight slidable on the arm and functioning tomaintain the arm normally in upright position and means ywhereby theleverage between the counterweight and the pivotal connection isincreased when the arm is lowered.

3. A device of the character described comprising in combination, asupport, a fluid-carryingarm mounted on the support and adapted to bemoved relatively theretoN a counterweight tending to hold the arm inupright position. and means for moving the counterweight relatively tothe arm whene ever the arm is lowered, said means being` so arrangedthat the tendency for the weight to raise the arm is increased when thearm is lowered.

1. A device of the character described, comprising in combination, asupport, a fluid-carrying arm pivotally mounted on the support, acounterweight slidable on the arm station may have an increased range ofand functioning to maintain the arm normally in upright position andmeans operatively connecting the counterweight with the support, wherebythe leverage between the counterweight and the pivotal connection isincreased when the arm is lowered.

5. A device of the character described comprising in combination, asupport, a fluid-carrying arm pivotally mounted thereon, a counterweightslidably mounted on the arm, and a link connecting the support andcounterweight in such manner that the weight is moved away from thepivot as the arm is lowered, whereby the .force tendingto raise the armis increased proportionately as the arm is lowered.

6. In an air supply station for motor vehicles, the combination with aflexible air hose, of a supporting arm therefor, means for pivotallymounting said arm to permit movement thereof in a vertical plane, saidarm having an extension on the opposite side of said pivotal connection,a counter-Weight movable on the extension, and means for moving thecounterweight on said extension away from the pivotal connection as thearm is lowered.

7. An air supply station for motor vehicles comprising in combination, aflexible air hose, a supporting arm therefor, means for pivotallymounting the arm to swing in a vertical plane, a counterweightassociated with the arm for returning it to normal position, and meansassociated with the counterweight for` moving it progressively away fromthe pivotal connection :as the air hose in lowered. y

8. An air supply station comprising in combination a flexible air hose,an arm coma counterweight movable relatively to the extension, yandcushioning means on the eX tension for preventing contact between thearm and supportv when the counterweight acts to return the hose'tonormal position.

9. An air supply station of the character described comprising incombination a flexible air hose, an arm connected to one end of thehose,a casing to which the arm is pivotally connected, a counterweightassociated with the arm, means carried by the casing for moving thecounterweight relatively to the arm as the hose is lowered, whereby theforce tending to vreturn the hose to noi-mal position is increasedproportionately to the amount of lowering, and cushioning means on thearm for engaging the counterweight whereby Contact between the arm andcasing is prevented when the hose is returned to normal position.

10. An air supply station comprising in combination, la support, an armpivotally mounted on the support, said arm having an extension on theside of the pivotal connection opposite the arm, a counterweight movableon the extension, and a helical spring surrounding the extension andserving as cushioning means for the counterweight to prevent contact ofthe arm with the support.

1l. An air supply station for motor vehicles comprising in combination,a hollow standard having an opening adjacent the upper end, a casingrotatably mounted on the standard, a tubular arm pivoted within thecasing, a rod extending from the arm on the opposite side of its pivotobliquely to the general direction of the arm, whereby when the arm isupright, the rod extends diagonally down at the side of the standard, a`counterweight slidably mounted on the arm, a link connecting thecounterweight with 'the casing, and a flexible hose secured at its upperend to the free end of the arm and having aty its lower end a head forair connection with the tire valve.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto afiix my signature.

ROLLIN L. BACHER.

